Category Archives: Pop Culture

Lent Madness 2012, a tournament of heavenly heavyweights, is just around the corner. This is an annual event that is both serious and silly, and I was invited to participate in last year’s fun as a “celebrity blogger” on behalf of C.S. Lewis.

Because C.S. Lewis won that contest, they simply had no choice but to invite me to return this year as the Reigning Advocate. “They” would be the Lent Madness Supreme Executive Committee, which has produced this informational video (and includes some commentary about yours truly at the 8 minute mark):

Most readers of Laughing Water know that I’m an Episcopal priest and serve as the Rector of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota. Most also know that I have a sense of humor. So I was greatly amused this afternoon when someone called the church, asking a staff member if “Mr. or Mrs. Stephens” was available. One person has suggested that an appropriate response might have been, “I’m sorry, the martyr is out.” However, I probably would have referred this lost soul to a newly unveiled website for Lent Madness 2012. That’s where folks like today’s slightly confused caller can learn about martyrs, saints, and heros of faith from our own time, too. It also includes a bit of humor.

Last year I was asked to contribute to Lent Madness as a celebrity blogger on behalf of C.S. Lewis, who ultimately won the “golden halo” in this tournament that I like to refer to as “The Saintly Smackdown.” I’m happy to report that I’ve been asked to return as one of eight celebrity bloggers for Lent Madness 2012.

This is going to be fun! I wonder if I’ll get to write about Mrs. Stephens . . .

Readers of Laughing Water will recall an enthusiastic post from last month about Lent Madness 2011, a kind of tournament with a 32-saint bracket. What you may not know, however, is that the organizer of “The Saintly Smackdown” invited four celebrity bloggers, which surprisingly included me, each to argue for one of four final candidates in this year’s quest for the Golden Halo. (I was tempted to describe it as the coveted Golden Halo, but that would obviously be sinful.)

The saints who remain on their marble pedestals are:  Perpetua, Clare, Thomas Becket, and C.S. Lewis. As with the previous rounds, people have an opportunity to read about them before voting for one. The polls will remain open until noon EDT/11:00 a.m. CDT tomorrow, which is Maundy Thursday, for both semi-final matchups: Lewis vs. Clare and Becket vs. Perpetua. The championship between the two saints that persevere will begin immediately thereafter.

I was asked to be an advocate for C.S. Lewis and, since this is also meant to include some humor, offer a bit of trash talk about the others. So here goes.

Three reasons to vote for C.S. Lewis (1898-1963):

• Lewis engaged others in the marketplace of ideas, like Paul in conversation with philosophers in the Areopagus of Athens (Acts 17). Lewis was well-educated at Oxford University, where he also taught, and came to Christian faith as an adult. He knew, therefore, how to address various audiences from those hostile to Christianity to those struggling to follow Jesus. Our churches could really use a 21st-century version of Lewis to do the same today.

• Lewis nurtured the imagination of children and famously corresponded with his young fans, taking seriously the invitation to allow the little ones to come to Jesus for a blessing (Matthew 19). The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels by Lewis that contain Christian themes, has become a classic of children’s literature. In a time when overly aggressive parenting is robbing kids of their childhood, we need the example of Lewis to stop the madness.

• Lewis married Joy Gresham late in life and raised her two sons after her death. The cancer that took her life caused Lewis to wrestle with the problem of suffering and tested his faith. So he knew the harsh realities of walking through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). This chapter of the Oxford don’s life was depicted in the 1993 film Shadowlands, starring Anthony Hopkins. Those who saw it and refuse to admit that they left the theater crying like a baby aren’t being honest with themselves.

As for the other so-called saintly contenders, consider the following:

• Clare and her followers slept on piles of twigs. That’s right, twigs. Gathering twigs over and over again obviously led to our current problems with deforestation and the despoiling of the environment. For the love of God’s creation, don’t vote for her!

• Becket demanded the use of separate ecclesiastical courts for clergy trials, which is not unlike the indefensible policies of too many bishops-in-the-news recently. And the excommunication scene in the 1964 film Becket is only cool in a creepy Darth Vader kind of way.

• Perpetua was arrested, placed in a dungeon, and had a vision about a golden ladder guarded by a dragon. I think this gives us a clue as to the true reason she got into trouble with the law. Can anyone say, “Puff, the Magic Dragon?” Just say, “No!”

You can read about Lewis and Clare and also vote for Lewis here!

As someone who was raised on “Tobacco Road” and attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I know a little about ACC basketball and March Madness. Unfortunately, as described in The Winston-Salem Journal, yesterday was both the first day of the ACC tournament and the last day of action for the Demon Deacons:

GREENSBORO – Boston College put Wake Forest and all its fans out of their prolonged misery Thursday with an 81-67 victory in the first round of the ACC tournament. “Obviously,” coach Jeff Bzdelik said, “it has been a challenging year for Wake Forest.”

So my attention has turned to another tournament that also began yesterday: Lent Madness (a.k.a. “The Saintly Smackdown”). It was established last year by the Rev. Tim Schenck, an Episcopal priest in Massachusetts, and includes an impressive 32-saint bracket, which you can explore in more detail by clicking on the picture below. The final matchup of the Saintly Sixteen in 2010 was between Stephen the Martyr and Hildegard of Bingen. As the Rector of St. Stephen’s Church, I tried to rally the faithful in support of Stephen, a deacon and the first martyr of the Christian faith. That loss was a tough one for those of us who are proud to be Non-Demon Deacons and/or Martyrs.

The 32-Saint Bracket for Lent Madness 2011

The way this works is that a vote takes place on Tim’s blog, Clergy Family Confidential, to choose between saints in each matchup as they make their way toward the Golden Halo. My initial vote went to Cyprian, the trial lawyer-turned-bishop, who argued for mercy toward those who had abandoned the faith in the midst of persecution and for welcoming their return to the fold after a period of penance.

Now it’s your turn to vote!